ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
AYUSH
Union Minister of State for Tourism and Defence, Shri Ajay Bhatt to participate in celebrations at Attari in Amritsar
In the spirit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as the country celebrates 75th year of independence, 75 iconic sites have been selected for observation of the 8th edition of International Day Yoga on 21st June 2022 by the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. Attari in Amritsar from the state of Punjab features in the list of these 75 iconic sites.
Union Minister of State for Tourism and Defence, Shri Ajay Bhatt to participate in celebrations at Attari in Amritsar as a Chief Guest. The program is scheduled to start at 6:00 AM. The location of the program at the India Pakistan border of Attari-Wagah is reflective of the theme of this year’s International Day of Yoga across the globe, which is ‘Yoga for Humanity’
The Prime Minister will lead the IDY 2022 celebrations from the Mysuru Palace Grounds on June 21, 2022. Nearly fifteen thousand yoga enthusiasts will perform yoga, and the event will be organized with the support of members of parliament, departments of the Government of Karnataka, ministers, dignitaries, revered yoga gurus, and institutions.
Recently in a press conference, Union AYUSH Minister Shri Sarbanand Sonowal said that the upcoming International Day of Yoga  won’t just mark a day in the calendar of cultural events, but it will mark a revolution in the way we perceive and approach health and well-being. He further said that through this day, we aim to accelerate the adoption of the traditional practice and remind the world of its benefits for the mind, body, and soul.
This year’s theme considers the geopolitical dilemmas being faced by the world and seeks to help everyone channel their altruistic and empathetic selves. The day would also witness the innovative ‘Guardian Ring’ program, which will see the streaming of all the events being organized by Indian missions abroad, beginning from the eastern part of the globe and heading towards the west along with the Sun’s movement across 16 time zones. Around 80 countries will participate in the unique ‘relay’ program.
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Nomination of Members in Minority Institutions
The institutions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs are :  Haj Committee of India ;  Central Waqf Council ;  National Waqf Development Corporation;  Maulana Azad Education Foundation;  National Commission for Minorities;  National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation and  Dargah Khawaja Saheb, Ajmer. Out of the said institutions, Lok Sabha Members are nominated in two institutions namely CWC, New Delhi and Haj Committee of India, Mumbai. As per Section 9  of the Waqf Act, 1995, the Central Government is to appoint two Members of Parliament  from Lok Sabha as Members for Central Waqf Council. Further, as per Section 4, of the Haj Committee Act, 2002, two members of Lok Sabha are to be nominated by the Speaker Lok Sabha from among its Muslim Members to be members of Haj Committee of India. Posts falling vacant and filling up of said posts is an ongoing process and the same is done as per provisions of concerned Acts and policies of the Government.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Finance
FM holds Pre-Budget Consultation with representatives from Water and Sanitation sectors
Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman held her 9th Pre-Budget Consultation meeting with the leading representatives from Water and Sanitation sectors here today in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2020-21.
Along with the Finance Minister, the said aforesaid meeting was attended by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs; Shri Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, DEA; Shri Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Revenue Secretary; Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM; Shri Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Department of Drinking water and Sanitation, Shri Amarjeet Sinha, Secretary Ministry Rural Development; Shri V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Shri Pramod Chandra Mody, Chairman, CBDT; Dr K.V. Subramanian, CEA, and other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
During the aforesaid meeting, discussions were held on challenges faced in providing quality of water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage in India. Experts also talked about removing disparities in accessing sanitation and quality of water. Experts felt there is a need to scale up rural sanitation and hygiene besides providing sustainable solutions to water scarcity and health issues. Representatives from Water and Sanitation sectors also apprised the Finance Minister of ground realities and gave many suggestions to tackle current challenges. Suggestions were related to areas of maintenance of septic tank; decentralisation of waste management system , focus on waste conservation; a bottom’s up approach for effective implementation of Water , Sanitation and Hygiene  programme; demand side management for water allocation; community water management programme in urban areas, focus on behaviour change communication; region-specific differentiated best practices/model; collectivisation of sanitation workers; eco-friendly sewage treatment; measurement of service standards in core services vis-à-vis urban and rural areas; incentivising waste water treatment and recycling; developing capacity to recharge ground water and focusing on women empowerment through health, water and sanitation among others.
The major participants in the aforesaid meeting included Shri Arumugam Pillai Kalimuthu, Managing Trustee, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene  Institute; Shri Bin Chacko, Manager, Government Relations, World Vision India; Ms Jyoti Sharma, President, FORCE; Shri Manoj Ramchandra Sable, Chief Executive Officer, JAAGAR Enterprises; Shri Shaonli Chakraborty, Swasti, ; Shri V.K. Madhavan, Chief Executive Officer, Water Aid India; Ms Sajeev S. Jha, Programme Manager, India Sanitation Coalition, FICCI; Shri Avinash Sapru, Action Aid; Shri Asadullah, Programme Director CBGA; Shri Chandrakant Lahariya, National Professional Officer  to represent WHO India and Shri Nicolas Osbert, Chief Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Section, UNICEF.
NITI Aayog
Atal Innovation Mission launches fresh applications for Community Innovator Fellowship
Atal Innovation Mission , NITI Aayog on Tuesday, December 1st 2022 announced the launch of applications for Community Innovator Fellowship , an initiative of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog in collaboration with UNDP India to facilitate knowledge building and provide infrastructure support to aspiring community innovators essential for their entrepreneurship journey. Currently there are 22 Community Innovator fellows being incubated at the Atal Community Innovation Centre  program of AIM.
A Community Innovator Fellow is an individual with an entrepreneurial mind-set, with an idea to solve a community challenge through her/his enterprise. The journey of the fellow has been structured into 5 phases and applicants can visit the link - https://aim.gov.in/acic-fellowship.php
Speaking at the launch Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM mentioned “At the micro level, the start-up revolution has reached the tier 2, and tier 3 cities of India and amped up the Startup ecosystem in these regions. Solving local problems at scale ranging across issues like healthcare, education, agriculture, financial services is the key driving force for Atal Innovation Mission to empower the innovators solving local community problems at the grassroots. With the strategic locations Atal Community Innovation Centres are witnessing the grassroots innovators undergoing the transformation journey of pursuing the entrepreneurship as their full-fledged career options. With this launch of applications for fellowship we call upon the applicants to experience the journey of creating a change in the community”.
This is a one-year-long intensive fellowship program wherein an aspiring community innovator can apply irrespective of their socio-economic background is aimed at creating a conducive environment where knowledge, mentorship, community immersion and inclusion can prosper through adequate infrastructure and funding. During the course of this fellowship, each fellow would be hosted at an Atal Community Innovation Centre and would acquire SDG awareness, entrepreneurial skills and life skills while working on her/his idea.
AIM has been setting up Atal Community Innovation Centres  across the country. Currently there are 14 such centres, spread across 9 states and 36 more are coming up in the near future to take the collective number to 50 ACICs.
Link to Apply to Fellowship:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8v1_D8DntoHPr9rSL1rBSeBCF2cUKgt4k-h4AiOVGV6BFBA/viewform
About CIF: https://aim.gov.in/acic-fellowship-program-structure.php
Ministry of Steel
Promotion of Green Steel
The emissions from iron and steel sector as reported by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change  in India’s first, second and third Biennial Update Reports  to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  for the years 2010, 2014 and 2016 were 95.998 million tonnes CO2, 154.678 million tonnes CO2 and 135.420 million tonnes CO2, respectively.
The Ministry of Steel is committed to Net-Zero target by 2070. Towards this, in short term , reduction of carbon emissions in steel industry through promotion of energy and resource efficiency as well as renewable energy is being focused. For the medium term , utilisation of Green Hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage are the focus areas. For long term , disruptive alternative technological innovations can help achieve the transition to net-zero. For this purpose, Ministry of Steel is continuously engaging with various stakeholders.
Steps taken for promoting decarbonization in steel industry include:-
i. Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, 2019 enhances the availability of domestically generated scrap to reduce the consumption of coal in steel making.
ii. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy  has announced National Green Hydrogen Mission for green hydrogen production and usage. The steel sector has also been made a stakeholder in the Mission.
iii. Motor Vehicles  Rules September 2021, shall increase availability of scrap in the steel sector.
iv. National Solar Mission launched by MNRE in January 2010 promotes the use of solar energy and also helps reduce the emission of steel industry.
v. Perform, Achieve and Trade  scheme, under National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, incentivizes steel industry to reduce energy consumption.
vi. The steel sector has adopted the Best Available Technologies  available globally, in the modernization & expansions projects.
vii. Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization  Model Projects for Energy Efficiency Improvement have been implemented in steel plants.
The Ministry is focusing on raising awareness on the emerging market for green steel among the manufactures.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Science & Technology
IIT Guwahati develops affordable diagnostic kits for COVID-19
Accurate testing is important to get out of the clutches of novel coronavirus. Stepping up efforts in this regard, the Indian Institute of Technology  Guwahati, in association with RR Animal Healthcare Ltd and Guwahati Medical College and Hospital , has developed low-cost diagnostic kits. These are Viral Transport Media  kits, RT-PCR kits, and RNA isolation kits.
The VTM kits are the first-stop source used to collect nasal and oral swab specimens from an individual source to a laboratory safely for culture and testing. During this period, the virus, if present, in the sample specimens should remain intact until the testing procedure is completed. The kit consists of a comprehensive solution specially formulated for the collection and transport of SARS-CoV-2.
“To bring down the cost of kits, we have used material that are available in the local market and they are as per the World Health Organisation  recommendation. We have handed over two batches of these kits to the National Health Mission, Assam, and GMCH. We are making them in bulk to make it available to larger population,” said Prof. Parameswar Krishnan Iyer, lead researcher, IIT Guwahati.
 Laxmi Raman Adil, PhD student , Dr. Pankaj Choudhury , Prof. ParameswarIyer and Prof. Siddhartha Ghosh , Dr. Anil Bidkar 
These kits comprise two transport media, one for nasopharyngeal and the other for oropharyngeal specimen collection swabs. Both of these are safe to use as they are recommended and validated by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention  as well. . The complete package is suitable for the collection, transport, maintenance, and long-term freezer storage of viral specimens. The unique formulation of the transport medium helps in preserving the viability of viruses for up to 72 hours .
The swabs have been designed ergonomically with a pre-molded breakpoint on their shaft for enabling secure sampling. These sterile VTM kits comply with the CDC-recommended configurations for viral specimen collection for COVID-19 and are packed in user-friendly individual packs. “These kits will spur development of affordable and high-quality healthcare products in Assam and provide access to world-class kits and career opportunities to healthcare professionals and students,” said Prof Iyer.
In addition to the sterile VTM kits, the Institute has also developed RNA isolation kits and RT-PCR kits jointly with RR Animal Healthcare Ltd. The isolated and purified RNA is then converted to DNA by an enzyme Reverse Transcriptase , which is used to confirm the presence or absence of COVID-19. The large-scale production of all these kits has commenced to meet the requirement of Assam and will be made available across the country soon.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves protocol amending the Agreement between India and Sri Lanka for avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Signing and Ratification of the Protocol amending the Agreement between India and Sri Lanka for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
Impact:
Updation of preamble text and inclusion of Principal Purpose Test, a general anti abuse provision in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement  will result in curbing of tax planning strategies which exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules.
Details:
- The existing DTAA between India and Sri Lanka was signed on 22nd January, 2013 and entered into force on 22nd October, 2013.
- India and Sri Lanka are members of the Inclusive Framework and as such are required to implement the minimum standards under G-20 OECD BEPS Action Reports in respect of their DTAAs with Inclusive Framework countries. Minimum standards under BEPS Action 6 can be met through the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting  or through agreement bilaterally.
- India is a signatory to the MLI. However, Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the MLI as of now. Therefore, amendment of the India-Sri Lanka DTAA bilaterally is required to update the Preamble and also to insert Principal Purpose Test  provisions to meet the minimum standards on treaty abuse under Action 6 of G-20 OECD Base Erosion & Profit Shifting  Project.
Background:
The existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement  between India and Sri Lanka was signed on 22nd January, 2013 and entered into force on 22nd October, 2013. India and Sri Lanka are members of the Inclusive Framework and as such are required to implement the minimum standards under G-20 OECD BEPS Action Reports in respect of their DTAAs with Inclusive Framework countries. Minimum standards under BEPS Action 6 can be met through the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting  or through agreement bilaterally. India is a signatory to the MLI.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Cooperation, Collaboration and Commitment will guide the strategic partnership between India and ASEAN countries, says Shri Piyush Goyal
India demonstrated itself as the trusted partner to the world, particularly in times of stress: Shri Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal today said that 3Cs- Cooperation, Collaboration and Commitment, will guide the strategic partnership between India and ASEAN countries. Addressing the ASEAN-India Business Council virtual meet, Shri Goyal said the Covid-19 pandemic period provided a unique opportunity to India to demonstrate itself as the trusted partner to the world, particularly in times of stress. Shri Goyal extended a hand of friendship to the ASEAN region, which he described as deep and valuable partners, and partners in the progress.
The Minister said that Aatamnirbhar Bharat connotes a self-reliant country which is ready to engage with the world from the position of strength and confidence, and on equal and fair terms. He said that India and ASEAN have not been able to harness the full trade potential, for various reasons, but now is the time to open matrix to expand trade, address concerns of all nations and businesses, and resolve the differences. He extended India’s friendship and partnership to ASEAN through businesses, so that together both the partners are able to succeed, secure future, work together, attain prosperity, and achieve a target of $300 billion trade. Shri Goyal said that the business council meeting is a good forum to discuss concerns and best practices, share ideas, and flag the problems.
Shri Goyal said that during the early days of pandemic, India went out to the world for its requirements to fight Covid-19, but didn’t get much traction, as everyone was holding on for their own requirements. But, India, on the other hand, with the ability to provide medicines, acted as the Pharmacy for the world. We supplied medicines to over 150 countries of the world, to every part of the world, particularly to the less developed nations. Restrictions were imposed initially but that was with the noble intent of ensuring that the poor nations are not deprived of the medicines. All this showed that India is a resilient country, a trusted partner and a friend indeed.
Shri Goyal said that the country developed adequate capacity to manufacture PPE, masks, and ramped up our testing capabilities from under 1000 per day to about a million a day. “We have been self-sufficient under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. During the period, Indians developed commitment and consciousness to maintain social distancing, to adequately take care of personal hygiene, wear a mask at all times and care for near ones.”, the Minister said. He said that India demonstrated its resilience, ability to overcome problems and our collective efforts ensured that we can protect lives and livelihoods. We enforced strictest lockdown to save lives, and then ensured quick unlockdown to bring take care of the livelihood issues, he added.
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Ministry of Jal Shakti
Jal Jeevan Mission transforms remote villages of Nagaland; Helps improve quality of life by providing tap water in far flung areas through community participation
The spirit of community partnership amongst the villagers of Tekhouba, District Phekin, Nagaland is inspirational for other local communities. The community developed their indigenous method to deal with water scarcity. The water source located 5.5 kms from the village has enough discharge, but the real challenge was to bring water to the village through gravity system in such hilly terrain. Under the leadership of village council and local Water & Sanitation  committee, the community secured forest clearance, fencing, labour force requirement and also managed to get land donated for the water supply system. The scheme covers 553 households with a minimum service level of 55 lpcd. The Village Council collects water user charge from every household and also ensures its proper utilization towards operation & maintenance expenditure of water supply facilities.
Similarly, the smiles of Vedami village members says it all with them basking in the new found ‘ease-of-living’ status, as envisaged under Jal Jeevan Mission. Every household of this village is now provided with 55 litres per capita per day of assured safe water supply in adequate quantity and of prescribed quality on regular basis and this has become possible only through community participation and active involvement of the local Water and Sanitation  committee. The same story echoes in Tsongphong village of 65 households which was one of the first villages to be covered under the Mission. The village is situated in Kiphire district, the only Aspirational district of Nagaland. As with most gravity schemes, the laying of the main pipeline was a huge task as road connectivity is almost non-existent here. This challenge did not deter the community spirit as the entire community came together and contributed generously in the form of cash and/ or labour to realize their dream of tap water connections. The WATSAN committee of this village also leads the operation and maintenance activities ensuring long-term sustainability of their water supply system.
Union Government’s flagship programme, Jal Jeevan Mission  is under implementation in partnership with States with the objective of ensuring potable water supply in adequate quantity and of prescribed quality to every rural household on regular and long-term basis. JJM is a decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed program facilitating rural - local communities to function as water utilities and lead planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of in-village water supply systems. Success stories from such remote villages in hilly terrain overcoming many challenges speak volumes of the transformative role of the Mission in improving the quality of life of rural communities.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Advisories to States/UTs for prompt and strict action against miscreants taking law into their own hands and inciting violence
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question regarding details on mob lynching cases, in Lok Sabha today, said that the National Crime Records Bureau  does not maintain data with respect to mob lynching. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs  have issued advisories to States and UTs, from time to time, to maintain law and order and ensure that any person who takes law into his/her own hand is punished promptly as per law.
The Minister informed that advisories dated 23.07.2018 and 25.09.2018 were issued to the State Governments/UT Administrations for taking measures to curb incidents of mob lynching in the country. In addition to this, the Government, through audio-visual media, has also generated public awareness to curb the menace of mob lynching. The Government has also sensitized the service providers to take steps to check the propagation of false news and rumours having potential to incite mob violence and lynching.
Shri Rai stated that an advisory dated 04.07.2018 was issued to the States and UTs by MHA, to keep watch on circulation of fake news and rumours having potential of inciting violence, take all required measures to counter them effectively and to deal firmly with persons taking law into their own hands. Further, the Ministry has also issued an advisory on 09.08.2016 to all States/UTs for taking prompt and strict action against miscreants who take law into their own hands in the name of protection of cow.
‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India and State Governments are responsible for prevention, detection, registration and investigation of crime and for prosecuting the criminals through their law enforcement agencies, Shri Rai added.